Tag: focal laser ablation

If you have prostate cancer but you also have a coexisting condition like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or diabetes, are you a good candidate for a radical (meaning total gland) treatment? It could turn out to be a rougher journey than you bargained on... keep reading

It’s frustrating when I hear focal therapy described as experimental. There are still many naysayers among urologists and oncologists who insist that focal therapy has not yet demonstrated its merits. To address their skepticism, I turn to international expert Professor Mark Emberton of University College London. Mr. Emberton (see explanation below for why British surgeons keep reading

We like to believe we are creatures of logic, and that we make rational decisions based on tangible evidence. However, we rarely have an upfront, 100% ironclad guarantee that a choice we’re about to make has the result we most hope for. In such cases, we trust as much evidence as we were able to keep reading

Can you think of a time when you experienced an unexpected negative occurrence from some decision or action on your part? Hopefully it wasn’t a huge impact and was easily corrected. However, history is littered with large-scale tragedies stemming from what seemed like a good idea at the time. For example, Chairman Mao’s campaign to keep reading

Radiation as a prostate cancer treatment is an alternative to surgery, especially for patients whose age or other health conditions means they’re not good candidates for surgery. There are other reasons for choosing radiation, especially among men who don’t like what they learn about the potential urinary and sexual side effects of prostatectomy or a keep reading

I came across a July 6, 2022 commentary piece published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).[i] It raises an interesting 2-part question about focal treatment for prostate cancer (PCa): For which patients is this approach effective in controlling their PCa, and how is cancer control defined? The three authors hail from Ohio State keep reading

No doubt you’ve heard it before, and for sure you’ll hear it again. Radical prostatectomy (RP) is the “gold standard” of prostate cancer (PCa) treatment. Sounds impressive, right? When most people hear that phrase, they assume it means the best. However, a standard simply means a baseline against which other things in the same category keep reading

How can prostate cancer treatment affect your sex life? Let me count the ways: Damage to the nerves that control erection Loss of ejaculate due to gland removal or whole-gland ablation Loss of desire and/or erectile dysfunction as a result of androgen deprivation therapy Psychological/identity/self-esteem issues that affect performance According to clinical psychologist Leslie Schover, keep reading

One of the ongoing themes in my blogs is the importance of matching a patient’s prostate cancer with the treatment for which he is best qualified. The lower the risk, the more treatment options will be open, possibly including focal therapy. However, “bulky” intermediate-to-high risk prostate cancer excludes focal treatment because it requires a more aggressive approach... keep reading

We have occasionally posted blogs about the grassroots influence that prostate cancer (PCa) patients can have over trends in PCa treatment. For example, patient desire and demand for less invasive treatments that can diminish their quality of life played an enormous part in the evolution of focal therapies, such as our own Focal Laser Ablation. keep reading